RICHMOND – Sixth-seeded VCU took an early lead, scoring the first two goals of the game, en route to a 16-10 win over No. 3 Davidson in the 2025 Atlantic 10 Women’s Lacrosse Championship first round Thursday at Robins Stadium.

The Rams (8-10) advance to face No. 2 Saint Joseph’s Friday at 3:00 pm in the semifinals. The Hawks topped VCU in last year’s championship first round.

After VCU (11-8) scored twice in the first 2:01, the teams traded scores through the rest of the period. The Rams first four goals came from four different players, one of which was Ashley Karn, who also tallied a hat trick in the second period alone, sending the game to halftime with the black and gold Rams on top 9-5.

Davidson got hot in the third, trying to rally with four straight goals, two from Jenna Skibbe that pulled the ‘Cats within two, a margin that swelled to three with a late VCU goal by Sam Palmer. But the Rams turned back any hope of a rally in the fourth, with goals by Rachel Koeneke, Kiley Kozak and Mason Whitmore.

Karn had a game-high five goals and Koeneke and Sophia Bombardieri each had two assists. Skibbe led the Wildcats with four goals and Riley Cochrane tallied three assists. Atlantic 10 Goalkeeper of the Year Kayla Joyce made six saves. VCU’s two goalies combined for a single save.